King Zhuang of Chu

Xiong Lü 熊旅
King of Chu
Reign	613 BC - 591 BC
Predecessor	King Mu
Successor	King Gong
Issue
King Gong of Chu
Full name
Ancestral name: Mi Clan name: Xiong Given name: Lü
Father	King Mu of Chu
Died	591 BC

King Zhuāng of Chǔ (Chinese: 楚莊王; pinyin: Chǔ Zhuāng Wáng) (died 591 BC) was a monarch of the Zhou Dynasty vassal State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Born ancestral name Mi(芈), given name is Lǚ (旅 or 侶), he became one of the Five Hegemons and later attempted to wrest control of China from the Zhou King.

King Zhuang ascended the throne in 613 BC at a time when the Kingdom of Chu was in disarray. For the first three years of his kingship, Zhuang wasted time on excessive hunting and lavish partying. Several courtiers were anxious about the king but none dared speak up as he had given orders that anyone who challenged his authority would be killed. When a particularly senior minister challenged him through a riddle, the king responded that he had been waiting for three years for someone from his court to show some nationalistic pride.

The king made Sunshu Ao (孫叔敖) Chancellor and began a series of reforms. Chu's agricultural output improved significantly during his reign, aided by Sunshu Ao's comprehensive dam-works and an enormous planned reservoir created in modern-day northern Anhui province. In 611 BC he annexed the State of Yong (庸国), a move which made Chu much stronger.

After some overwhelming victories at the head of his army, King Zhuang attempted to take the place of King Ding of Zhou. He asked a messenger from Zhou about the weight of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons which Zhou possessed, a euphemism for seeking ultimate power in China at the time but was rebuffed.

In the Battle of Bi, his army defeated the State of Jin（晉國）, another strong state at that time. Later he achieved hegemony amongst some other states. His progress from lazy regent to a hegemon of his time gave rise to the Chinese Four-character idiom of "Yī Mǐng Jīng Rén" (一嗚驚人), literally "Amazing [the others] with one cry", which comes from his promise: "不嗚則已，一嗚驚人；不飛則已，一飛衝天", translated as "[It would be] fine if he does not cry out, [if he does,] one cry is enough to amaze all others; [It would be fine] if he does not fly, [if he does,] he would charge through the sky".

References

• Editors Lin Handa (林汉达), Cao Yuzhang (曹余章). "Five thousand Years of Chinese History" (上下五千年). 1990, Youth & Children Publishing, PRC.

King Zhuang of Chu House of Mi Died: 591 BC
Regnal titles
Preceded by King Mu of Chu	King of Chu 613 BC – 591 BC	Succeeded by King Gong of Chu